Change continues as map-related changes continue to settle
by Brian Leubitz
Wally Herger's new district, CD-01 is not really a toss-up district. It leans Republican pretty heavily, with a 43-31 Republican registration advantage. Herger has never really been a real power broker of the House, but he has won reelection by at least 15 points since his first election in 1980. But, he has been there for a while, and at 66, he's deciding to hang it up.
Herger is your typical rural conservative Congressman, and will likely be replaced by another typical rural conservative, state Sen. Doug LaMalfa. It is hard to imagine too much will change policy wise, except maybe LaMalfa might be a little more cautious about calling a self-described "right-wing terrorist" as a great American. Not because LaMalfa won't agree with the sentiments, but you know, he probably saw Herger get stung by that one.
Some other Congressman are considering retirement as well. Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands) is now in a toss-up, tilt Democratic seat that he may not wish to fight out at the age of 77. Others might still be coming in the next month or so.
On the Senate side, Bob Herzberg, who still draws Willie Brown's ire for falling down on the job on the term limits measure as Speaker, is mulling a run for state Senate against Fran Pavley in the newly drawn 27th district. Of course, that is only if the current maps hold for the June election, as there is still substantial doubt. Sen. Steinberg has already endorsed Pavley, an incumbent used to running in a more Dem-friendly seat.
While the 27th will still lean Dem with a 6 pt reg advantage, it also could end up with something of a fight. Tony Strickland, who also lives in the new district, is expected to run for the seat of retiring Elton Gallegly's CD-26 in Ventura County against a field of candidates that has not yet really distilled into anything cohere. Asm. Cameron Smyth has been rumored to be considering the SD-27 seat as well. Quite the merry-go-round.
Anyway, Herzberg, a friend of the good government moderates and a co-chair of California Forward, will run to the right of Pavley. The question is how this will work with the Top-2. If Pavley is able to build a coalition of progressives, and there is a strong Republican (Smyth??), she could be in a strong position to be in a one-on-one with the Republican. If no strong Republican gets in the race, and she's in a one-on-one with Herzberg in November, she would be in more trouble. Either way, the Ventura County senate race just got a lot more interesting (and annoying.)
The merry-go-round has to stop at some point, but until the uncertainty about the Senate maps ends with some resolution from the Supreme Court, don't expect any real resolution.
Alzheimers. It's a scary word, and when it was spoken tonight it caused an audible gasp to ripple through the crowd at the Candidate's Forum, sponsored by the Chico Enterprise Record and The League of Women Voters.
Representative Wally Herger's sudden and unexplained decision to skip the debate prompted even the Chico ER to editorialize against him, accusing him of "Campaigning From the Couch." Wednesday night, after Herger's representative read a few paragraphs of standard Republican talking points to a silent crowd, Jim Reed voiced his own suspicions about why Herger has been ducking him when he has willingly debated opponents in the past.
Where's Wally, and why won't he debate his opponent?
What can you do with a candidate who refuses to commit to a debate? Such is the case with 24 year incumbent Wally Herger. First he refused to debate his primary opponent, Tea Party favorite Pete Stiglich. Now he refuses to commit to a debate with his Democratic opponent, Jim Reed. Why?
Is Herger so cocky about winning yet another term that he can't be bothered with a debate? Is he too cowardly to debate his trial lawyer opponent? You make the call.
Literally make the call. Help us Contact Wally Herger and demand a debate before it's too late. Ask Wally why he won't debate Jim Reed on October 6th.
I really do have the worst congressperson in the world (he was, after all, the guy who god-blessed a self-proclaimed "proud right-wing terrorist" as a "great American"), and I will prove it to you below the jump. But first, let me show you the type of people who have been electing my congresscritter to office for the past 24 years.
That's the main thoroughfare in my little mountain town, and that's the mentality I get to live with.
But just wait until you hear the latest from my congressguy.
Wally Herger, CA-02, just prevailed in his primary against a teabagger, but will he survive this fall against Democratic candidate Jim Reed, who is far more in touch with the beliefs of his California constituents when it comes to drilling and environmental issues?
You might think a Republican would reconsider the safety of deep water drilling after the endless eruption of the oil volcano in the Gulf.
You would be wrong. Herger still maintains that with our superior 21st Century technology we can drill-baby-drill with no harm to the environment.
Those of us in the reality-based community, including Jim Reed, see it differently.
In my previous post about the Wally Herger (R-Redding) incident wherein he praised a self-described "right-wing terrorist" as a "great American", I lamented that there was no good video to really put the incident in perspective.
Fortunately, the CDP has corrected that: they've found the full video. I got this from the CDP communications team just a little bit ago. Enjoy. You know, it's sad. Congressman Herger spends the entire time watching the guy rant with a wry smile. And given the fact that most of the crowd appears to be terrorist sympathizers, there's nothing he can really do without incurring the wrath of his constituency. Just watch as Congressman Herger--who no longer deserves that title, if he ever did--chooses demagoguery over loyalty to American values and ideals:
Pathetic.
Incidentally--if you're interested in helping the CDP publicize Wally Herger's despicable actions to his constituents, just click here.
When you read this story, I want you to do something.
I want you to substitute "left-wing" every time you see "right-wing." And I want you to substitute "Democrat" when you see the word "Republican."
I then want you to ask yourself how quickly this story would be up every single right-wing media outlet in existence front and center for the next week until the Congressman in question were forced to issue a tearful apology, and the person who made the remark had a Bill O'Reilly producer permanently camped outside his house while freepers investigated his entire family tree for potential ties to Muslims.
According to the Redding Record Searchlight, an incident broke out at a town hall at Simpson University in Redding on Tuesday when Herger signaled encouragement to a 67-year-old town hall attendee, Bert Stead, who called himself a "proud right-wing terrorist."
"Amen, God bless you," Herger reportedly replied to the comment. "There is a great American."
Attention right-wingers: THE PUBLIC ADVOCACY OF VIOLENCE BY CONSERVATIVE ACTIVISTS MUST END. We had an election. You lost it big. That's small-d democracy. And if you are "afraid for your country" and all that other jazz, try winning an election with views and policy prescriptions that are popular with people. Because otherwise, the country is what the voters make of it within the framework of the Constitution.
I'm sorry you have to wait until 2010. But anything else would be fundamentally un-American, wouldn't it?
As stunned as I was to hear Virginia Fox stating it was a hoax not a hate crime...just merely a person that was killed during a robbery...sexual orientation had nothing to do with it. My representative, Wally Herger, is also on the same page. But in his case, he claims HR 1913 is a bill that will "persecute." Yep...he thinks it is really just those dangerous thought police at work.
He voted against HR 1913 saying "it takes a dangerous course to criminalize thought." He stated that the bill would provide federal funding that "will lead to the persecution of pastors, bible teachers and others Christians exercising their right to free speech and expressing their religious beliefs."
He further stated that "all crimes are hate crimes" and that "all crimes should be prosecuted equally, regardless of the motivation."
He said "hate crimes eliminated through legislation is unjust and fundamentally un-American." "...HR 1913 "would afford preferential treatment to a special class of people requiring that only some people be treated equally under law." (This sentence is just plain baffling...it makes no real sense.)
He further stated that "this violated the constitutional principle of equal justice under the law and goes directly against freedom of speech and religion." Then he said, "Under this legislation, religious leaders or members of religious groups could become subject to criminal investigation or prosecutions for expressing their constitutionally protected beliefs."
And then, "the bill would separate people based on sexual orientation, gender identity and other vague terms." He continues, "the bill was written to be vague so as not to have much limitation." "It also means federal funding could be used to implement state hate crime laws and undermine First Amendment rights."
Well...Wally Herger was always a rubber stamp voter for everything Bush. Now he voted against HR 1913...a very much needed bill...by saying it will cause persecution against Christians and infringe upon First Amendment rights.
We've got to continue to expose these idiots! So, I guess he believes if you voted Yes on 8 in California, they are gonna be gunning for you.
As stunned as I was to hear Virginia Fox stating it was a hoax not a hate crime...just merely a person that was killed during a robbery...sexual orientation had nothing to do with it. My representative, Wally Herger, is also on the same page. But in his case, he claims HR 1913 is a bill that will "persecute." Yep...he thinks it is really just those dangerous thought police at work.
He voted against HR 1913 saying "it takes a dangerous course to criminalize thought." He stated that the bill would provide federal funding that "will lead to the persecution of pastors, bible teachers and others Christians exercising their right to free speech and expressing their religious beliefs."
He further stated that "all crimes are hate crimes" and that "all crimes should be prosecuted equally, regardless of the motivation."
He said "hate crimes eliminated through legislation is unjust and fundamentally un-American." "...HR 1913 "would afford preferential treatment to a special class of people requiring that only some people be treated equally under law." (This sentence is just plain baffling...it makes no real sense.)
He further stated that "this violated the constitutional principle of equal justice under the law and goes directly against freedom of speech and religion." Then he said, "Under this legislation, religious leaders or members of religious groups could become subject to criminal investigation or prosecutions for expressing their constitutionally protected beliefs."
And then, "the bill would separate people based on sexual orientation, gender identity and other vague terms." He continues, "the bill was written to be vague so as not to have much limitation." "It also means federal funding could be used to implement state hate crime laws and undermine First Amendment rights."
Well...Wally Herger was always a rubber stamp voter for everything Bush. Now he voted against HR 1913...a very much needed bill...by saying it will cause persecution against Christians and infringe upon First Amendment rights.
We've got to continue to expose these idiots! So, I guess he believes if you voted Yes on 8 in California, they are gonna be gunning for you.
As we all know, you can't win an election without a good candidate. But behind every good candidate are good people working their tails off. And in a grassroots campaign, every blade of grass makes a difference.
Jeff Morris has run what can only be called an insurgency campaign in California's 2nd Congressional District, challenging 22-year incumbent and Republican party-liner Wally Herger. Jeff's campaign has been run entirely by volunteers. Only one very low-paid staff member. Not one big corporate donation. A little bit of PAC support, but from PACs that a progressive can be proud of. The fact that it's a people-powered grassroots campaign was recently described with great clarity by a local newspaper:
When Wally Herger campaigns, his catering bills run in the thousands of dollars.
When Jeff Morris campaigns, he eats at McDonald's.
I've been posting quite a bit about Jeff Morris, who is running a tough campaign against Wally Herger in California's Second Congressional District. This post is going to be a bit different, because I want to talk about Jeff on a personal level.
Jeff is my brother. But that doesn't mean that we have always agreed. In fact, there have been times in our lives when we were at each other's throats like cats and dogs, Sunni and Shia, Yankees and Red Sox. That's all water long under the bridge, but my point is this: I would not be writing these posts if I didn't honestly believe that he's the best man for the job.
I thought it would be fun to share some family history so that you can better understand the forces that shaped Jeff Morris into the public servant he is today.
Democrat Jeff Morris and incumbent Republican Wally Herger met again this week to debate the future of California's 2nd Congressional District.
The video is available here. Wally looks slick as can be, comfortable with the camera, clearly well-practiced, as well he should after 22 interminable years in office. If you like professional politicians with fancy suits and enormous war chests, Wally's your guy. Me, I like my candidates with some substance and ideas. If they don't shop at Neiman Marcus, so much the better.
I originally listened to the radio broadcast streaming online, so if either candidate was sweating profusely or wandering aimlessly around the stage, I wouldn't have known about it. What I did notice was the way in which Wally Herger appeared to have no original thoughts of his own. Was I listening to Herger? Bush? McCain? The ghost of James Watt? Often, it was impossible to tell.
The editors of Redding's Record Searchlight appear to have done Democrat Jeff Morris an incredible favor by endorsing Republican incumbent Wally Herger in the race for California's 2nd Congressional District.
Normally, this kind of endorsement would not be something that the challenger's supporters could cheer about. This time, it appears that the Searchlight's action backfired -- big time.
Judging by the comments to the editorial and other community feedback, the paper has unleashed a wave of fury and outrage that will likely show itself at the polls, a wave that will carry ol' Wally into retirement where he belongs.
Something very interesting is happening to Northern California's Second Congressional District.
The party affiliation of registered voters in this enormous rural district, which has for years been considered a Republican stronghold, has shifted from conservative to progressive, from red to purple. Believe it or not, in some counties in the district, voter rolls are a lovely shade of blue!
Trinity County -- blue. Butte County -- blue. Siskiyou County -- purple and projected to be blue by the election. Yolo County -- purple. Yuba County -- purple. Wow!!
Jeff Morris is running an impressive grassroots campaign to replace Wally Herger in California's Second Congressional District. Last week, Jeff earned the endorsement of United Public Employees of California, LIUNA Local 792 -- the first congressional candidate endorsement in the local's history.
Jeff has also received endorsements from the Five Counties California Labor Council; Carpenters Local Union #1599, Redding; the California Labor Federation AFL-CIO Committee On Political Education; the Operating Engineers Union No. 3, District 70, Redding; and UAW, Region 5.
Meanwhile, Wally received an embarrassing 4% rating from the AFL-CIO in 2007, just a baby step up from his truly dismal 0% rating in 2003.
There is a growing consensus in California's Second Congressional District that Democratic candidate Jeff Morris has a good chance of taking out long-time incumbent and party-line Bush supporter Wally Herger. Jeff, who has received endorsements from elected officials statewide and others including former presidential candidate Pete McCloskey, recently received the endorsement of Take Back Red California, "a grassroots coalition that connects northern California Democrats in urban counties with northern California Democratic activists working in rural counties." Here's what they had to say about Jeff:
In Jeff Morris, Democrats have found a grassroots-based candidate, with a wealth of policy experience at the local level, who will mount a serious effort to unseat entrenched Republican Wally Herger and strengthen and reenergize Democratic organizations in this district.
Doesn't this sound like someone who could change "traditionally" red District 2 to blue? I think so. The Take Back Red California folks seem to think so. And we're not alone.
Last week, Democrat Jeff Morris officially kicked off his campaign to unseat long-time incumbent Wally Herger in California's 2nd Congressional District. In my last post about my brother Jeff, I mentioned that he would have to get past the backwards-looking conventional wisdom, which says that this district is a shoo-in for the Republicans. I argued, as do many others, that this is the year when a well-qualified candidate like Jeff Morris can win, regardless of the political makeup of the district.
Jeff, who has already garnered support from both Democrats and Republicans among his fellow county supervisors, proved me right by landing a huge endorsement from someone who spent years on the Republican side of the aisle -- former Congressman and real GOP maverick Pete McCloskey. Speaking last week, McCloskey lauded Jeff Morris as "a tough and honest leader who will be a welcome change to the 2nd District."
(Moved video up top as it is pretty gosh darn funny. - promoted by Brian Leubitz)
Yesterday, we told you about California Democrats who were holding events to celebrate the 73rd birthday of Social Security. Their intent was to both pay tribute to the program that has been a lifeline to millions of seniors for over seven decades AND to condemn John McCain and Republican members of Congress who are eager to privatize the system and let the corporate greed-mongers of Wall Street make a bundle.
For instance, Jeff Morris, the Congressional Democratic candidate who is going head-to-head with Wally Herger in CA-02, held his campaign kickoff at the Social Security office in Redding.
Julie Bornstein, the Democrat running to unseat Mary Bono Mack in CA-45 also held an event, to open her new campaign office in Palm Springs, with a special emphasis on celebrating 73 years of Social Security.
But Beverly and Leonard's celebration in CA-03 took the cake, so to speak...
Today is the birthday of Social Security, and Democrats around the country will be celebrating the program that has provided stability and dignity to seniors for the last 73 years. During the last few years, George W. Bush, John McCain and the Republicans in Congress have done their best to try to dismantle the protections that Social Security has built over the years.
"The American people said 'no' to George W. Bush and John McCain when they tried to privatize Social Security, and they'll say the same loud and clear to John McCain this November for promising more of the same," said DNC Chairman Howard Dean. "The same people who brought you Enron can't be trusted to gamble away the Social Security trust fund on the ups and downs of the stock market. John McCain is wrong on the privatization of Social Security, and he's the wrong choice for America's future."
Throughout the US, Democrats will be visiting Republican legislators and taking them copies of this birthday card. Here in California we have several special events taking place.
Up in CA-02, Democratic Candidate Jeff Morris, who is challenging the do-nothing Republican incumbent, Wally Herger, will be holding his Campaign Kick-Off at the Social Security Office in Redding. If you're in the area, stop by and meet him and his wife, Judy, and their many dedicated supporters.
Where: Social Security Office, 2195 Larkspur Office, Redding, CA 96002
When: Thursday August 14th at 9:45 am
Down in CA-45, Julie Bornstein, the Democratic candidate who is challenging Republican Mary Bono Mack, will be celebrating both the Social Security Birthday and the opening of her campaign office in Palm Springs. There's a rumor that cake may be involved...
Where: 1027 South Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, CA
When: Thursday August 14th from 4:30 to 6:30 pm
Throughout the US, Democrats will be visiting Republican legislators and taking them copies of this birthday card. Here in California we have several special events taking place.